As a composer, new compositions seem to appear of their own volition.
In the past several years, not only were new compositions happening, but also
compositions for which the instruments to realize them did not yet exist.
Internally, I could literally hear non-extant instruments playing new
compositions. The journey to invent or create these instruments has taken
many twists and turns; this was a path upon which I began to seriously venture
around the time of the KastningSiegfriedBook of Days recording sessions. After
those recording sessions concluded in 2002, I began to speak with then
production manager of Santa Cruz Guitars, Dan Roberts, about a lower-register
guitar family instrument; if the guitar could be thought of as a violin, I was
seeking a cello. Dan shipped out a
Santa Cruz Bob Brozman for me to use in the studio; this is a baritone
guitar which is tuned either two or three half-steps below the guitar. At
that time, I'd never heard of a baritone guitar; yet it would come to figure
prominently in the recording sessions for the album Bichromial.

In 2004, after the release of Bichromial, I began to consider the
possibility of a small-body, short-scale instrument with which to extend and
expand the upper registers of the guitar. On that album, I
began to explore the concept of expanding the current range of the guitar
towards the bass register by use of a Santa Cruz DBB baritone guitar. This
exploration led to the development of the Santa Cruz DKK Extended Baritone
guitar; as an artist endorser with
Santa Cruz Guitars,
I was fortunate to have their support, and worked with them on the development
of this unusual instrument I'd envisioned. The DBB, while a fine guitar, didn't do much to really extend the range, as it was only
designed to go a whole step below standard E tuning; yet it did hint at hidden
potential. The DKK went much
further, as it extended the register down to a 7th below standard (from E to low
F#). However, this extending of the lower register of the instrument
simultaneously had me considering the possibility of extending the treble
registers of the instrument as well. I began speaking with Santa Cruz
about a small-body, short-scale instrument in 2004. We discussed various
models of theirs: the 00, the PJ, and later, the Style 1. I had played
several of their 00 models, and was leaning in that direction, but due to the
development of the DKK and a year later, another instrument of my creation, the
Santa Cruz DKK-12, the idea of a small-body
instrument was put on hold. Although we were deep into the development of
the extended baritone, I was still thinking about extending the upper register
of the instrument, too.

In 2007, after completion of the recording
sessions for what would become the albums Resonanceand Parallel Crossings with
Sándor Szabó, I again turned my attention to the idea of extending the upper
register of the instrument. After so much time spent in the studio with
the DKK-12, I started to think about a double-course instrument for this
project. Using my Martin D-12-28, I began to try some experimental
tunings. However, instead of the usual 12-string tuning wherein four
of the six courses contain octave strings, I set up all the courses to be unisons with no
octaves. I used lighter gauges of strings, and tuned everything to F#,
which is one whole step above standard E tuning, and one full octave above the
DKK. The result was
encouraging; the double-courses provided a texture reminiscent of a mandolin or mandocello.
After a few weeks of living in F# tuning, I raised everything to G tuning by
experimenting with various string gauges. It was amazing how much
difference was made by pushing the tuning up by merely a half-step. After
using this G tuning in a recording session for the next
KastningSiegfried album, I again decided to
extend the harmonic territory covered by the G tuning, and after much more
experimentation with string gauges and combinations, I pushed everything up a
whole step to A. This was now a perfect fourth above concert E tuning, and
had such an element of bright sparkle, that it sounded like an entirely unknown
instrument; an amalgam of harpsichord, mandolin, and perhaps just a hint of
guitar. I carved a new bridge saddle for the A tuning, so as to be able to
really utilize it. In fact, I used the Martin in this A alto tuning on the Kastning - Szabóalbum Parabola, which will be
released by Greydisc Records in February 2009.

While the Martin revealed the potential in
this tuning/stringing, it was clearly the wrong instrument for it. The
scale length was too long, the D body was not right for such a higher-pitched
tuning, and the East Indian rosewood back and sides in combination with the D-28
body made for a bass-heavy and darker tonality. In a D, I love a dark,
smoky, bass-heavy and throaty kind of voice, but only as regards standard
concert tuning. The lower registers of the A tuning sounded rich and
resonant, but the upper registers were so weak as to be very imbalanced; almost
missing entirely in some chord voicings. Definition was lacking; the voice
was entirely imbalanced.. I
love the Martin when set up as a concert 12-string, but in this scenario, it did
not have a balanced voice. I knew that a smaller-bodied, short-scale
instrument with a different combination of tonewoods would work. I resumed
discussions about a smaller instrument with Santa Cruz. I had in mind that
a maple and Carpathian combination might be ideal. After several
conversations with Dan
Roberts, who was that time the production manager at Santa Cruz, it was confirmed that
indeed this would provide the voice which I sought for this tuning. Dan
suggested we speak with a trusted tonewood supplier of maple sets, John Preston
of Old World
Tonewoods in West Virginia. John proved to be exceptional in his
knowledge of European curly maple tonewood, and once Dan explained this new
invention of an instrument
to him, he was very enthusiastic about being involved in the project. In
fact, John proved to be extremely helpful, and did in fact supply us with the
perfect set of European curly maple for the back and sides of the Alto.

John Preston of Old World
Tonewoods recalls: "One
day in June, 2008, I received a call from Dan Roberts of Santa Cruz Guitar
Company. Dan had a special project and asked if I could perhaps help him in
getting the right wood for the guitar’s back and sides. The guitar was to be
made for Kevin Kastning, an artist endorser of SCGC. After discussing some of
the requirements of the guitar, Dan introduced Kevin to me, who happened to be
also on the line. Kevin described the importance of getting the right maple for
sound production and to would show off this special alto guitar. Later, I began
searching through my existing stock of European maple guitar sets. I wanted a to
find wood with a sustained, clear ring, but also having even and relatively
narrow flame extending across the entire piece. It also needed to be
structurally
“stress-free” as much as possible. I took photos of several maple backs and
e-mailed them to Kevin - but one in particular I thought would be the one Kevin
would choose. That wood was indeed the one Kevin selected, and now in Kevin’s
talented hands is helping to make that stimulating, intricate, highly
interesting music he is known for. It gives me great pleasure to have had a
part, albeit very minor, in the creation of this fine SCGC alto guitar for such
a special musician. Thanks, Kevin, and Dan, Joseph, and all at SCGC that had a
hand in this alto guitar project, for letting me be a part of it, too!"

I began to put together the rest of the
specifications for the alto. It would be based on the Santa Cruz 00; a
small-body instrument with a short scale of 24.75 inches. I had played
several of the Santa Cruz 00 models, and was always impressed with their balance
and simultaneously enamored of their unique voice. The body and the scale
length would be the only elements of the 00 which would remain intact, however.
Each of my guitars has a cutaway, but the 00 would be unique to my arsenal in
that it would not. The reason being that it was in such a high register,
that the upper portion of the register made accessible by a cutaway didn't have
the fullness and body of the rest of the instrument. It was the same
effect as the final half-octave of a piano: the tonal qualities in the extreme
upper register are all attack and no sustain. In a way, the entire
instrument was already above the cutaway register, so a cutaway would go unused.
In addition, cutaways reduce the air space of an instrument; in larger-bodied
guitars this reduction can be equalized by what is done with the voicing, but
the 00 is so small by comparison, that a cutaway could have a very serious and
undesired impact on the overall tone and voice. The back and sides would
be European curly maple, the neck would be mahogany instead of maple, top would
be Carpathian red spruce, the nut width would be wider than the stock 00, and in
a very unusual twist, the fingerboard would be fretless above the 15th fret.
Aesthetically, it would adhere to the usual KK series: no center back strip,
maple rosette and purflings, no position markers or fingerboard inlays, and no
pickguard. I also wanted to try something a tiny bit different on this
instrument, too; instead of the usual mother-of-pearl SCGC logo inlay on the
headstock overlay, I asked Joseph King of SCGC if he could do cocobolo rosewood
instead. I had specified figured ebony for the overlay, and I knew that
cocobolo, one of my very favorite tonewoods, would look subtle yet beautiful.
Joseph confirmed that indeed he could use cocobolo as the inlay material, and he
set about selecting a beautiful piece of figured ebony and the cocobolo for the
inlay.

Once I had the specs completed, I had a couple
of phone conferences with Richard Hoover, founder of Santa Cruz Guitars, and a
very gifted luthier. We discussed what I wanted in the capabilities of the
instrument; as well as all the specifications. Richard agreed with
everything I'd put together, and in August 2008, Joseph began work on the Alto.
John Preston had shipped the European curly maple back/sides set off to the SCGC
shop in Santa Cruz, California, and Joseph called me to let me know it had
arrived and looked great. We also discussed what I wanted in terms of
voice, tone, and balance for the Alto; it was Joseph's job to select the set of
Carpathian red spruce which would be used for the top. The selection of
the top set is highly critical in any instrument, and especially so in one which
had never before existed. Joseph and I spoke various times regarding the
voice and tone of the instrument; these conversations were indeed important, as
Joseph would be performing the voicing of the top, which involves among other
things, carving the top bracing in order to achieve the voice I sought.
Once the top was braced and voiced, and the body was together, Joseph again
called to discuss neck profiles. The neck is carved by hand, so the
profile is determined ahead of time. On some of my other SCGC instruments,
I'd specified a V-neck profile, but for the slightly wider neck and the double
courses, I wanted a C-neck profile. Again, Joseph got this exactly right;
the neck profile is extremely comfortable.

Along the course of the build process, Willie
Carter of SCGC would email progress photos. Richard would call me and keep
me appraised of the progress; as well as ask questions about details and finer
points of the specifications. In December 2008, I received a cheery call
from Lizbeth Gray at SCGC. The Alto was complete, and it would be shipping
within the week. It arrived at its new home on December 23, and felt like
a truly wonderful Christmas present. To Richard Hoover, Willie, Joseph,
Lizbeth, and everyone at SCGC, my sincerest thanks and gratitude.